How Patent Wars Are Stifling Innovation [Infographic]

We all know that patent trolling is a pretty annoying and increasingly serious problem because they waste money that could be used to fund innovation, but what does that really mean? This infographic from MBA Online explains the depth of the situation pretty well. In recent business acquisitions, companies have found themselves paying hundreds of thousands of dollars per patent that comes along with the purchased company. If that’s not enough, your average smartphone can require upwards of 200,000 patents. Really? Does your smartphone really do 200,000, unique, creative, patent-worthy things? Even considering internal processes? Probably not, although it would be pretty sweet if it did.